1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to automotive hatch-back vehicles, in general, and to the drainage systems employed with their hatch lids, in particular.
2. Description of the Related Art
Automotive hatch-back vehicles are often designed with channels and weep holes to drain rainwater from their hatch lids. Experience has shown that some designs—such as those of the Pontiac Trans Am, the Chevrolet Camaro, the Ford Mustang and the Ford Escort—do not work very well; in them, when the hatch lid is raised, the rainwater gushes from the run-off channels into the interior of the vehicle, wetting the rear seat, the rear seat speaker installations, the carpeting in the hatch area and the rear seat belt retractors (which, in freezing temperatures, then become “locked” and inoperative). Experience has also shown that such channels exhibit a tendency to accumulate rainwater, so that even when the vehicle has dried, raising the hatch lid results in the accumulations dripping into the hatch area once more. This problem is particularly exasperating after the vehicle has been washed clean and then dried off—in that then raising the hatch lid cascades the car-wash water in, to damage the interior, to rust various panelings, and to ruin the owner's overall investment in the vehicle in general.